Day 24- 19th May Tuscany

Day 24- 19th May

Woke at 7am but lay in bed listening to the street wake up until 8.30am or so. A good nights sleep as always – we have all learnt to fall asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows!!! Have included a pic of possibly, the world skinniest elevator in the hotel!!!

The market stalls slowly began to open around 9am and you could really smell the cheese store beside us and the fresh fish store across the lane. The smells are very strong especially the cheeses – a mix of wet socks, damp mould and pungent fermentation!! It has been a great experience though of the real French lifestyle. We have been told by the TD that French incomes are low and the cost of living is high, but apart from the beggars, they all seem like they live decent lives here.

We tidied up and had a healthy breakfast of biscuits and coke ?! then got some money at the ATM – there are 3 right outside the front door, makes it very easy as we will need quite a few euro’s for the villa in Tuscany as they don’t take credit cards. This has been the only booking in the entire trip where this has happened, everywhere else takes visa etc.

Were picked up by the shuttle for the airport in Orly and arrived early which was good as we had to work out where to check in. The shuttle driver told us it was a very small airport- he needs to come to NZ , it was about the size of Auckland’s !!! Finally worked out where to queue, Easyjet queue all their flights together. There are only 2 staff on check in and it was a bit of a melee for many as the line on our right was closed down and moved to our left then back again as there were problems with the computer. This meant all these people lost their places as others from behind jumped in the new line. Slight chaos for them but we were fine – thank goodness there was no need for Graeme to do the “beep beeping easyjet” thing we had joked about !! (No tv cameras either, so we were safe!!)

Plane was 20 mins late but we were first on as we had paid for speedy boarding where you were first on the plane. Easyjet doesn’t allocate seats, so it is first on, first choice of seats! A bit of a mickey mouse affair but fine really. Graeme saw us lined up smartly everywhere in the queues and I just took it as it came. Bummer Gray forgot he had hand sanitizer liquid in his backpack, so we lost that as it was over the allowed 100 mls and is flammable. ?!@#@!!

The trip was 1 hour 20mins, so arrived about 4pm local time in Pisa Italy. Off to the europcar desk to find our rental car. Pisa airport is about the size of Hamilton’s and about ¾ of Hamilton’s population was in there lines up for rental cars!! The worst was the Avis and Hertz counters – there were people lined around the corner. Pretty long wait and very hot, we were fine but I felt sorry for those with small children. Asked if we could get GPS as Matt and Michelle had it in England and it was fantastic but the computer isn’t loaded for the area we are going to .
Onto a shuttle to the carpark and found our car a Renault Megine – 6 gear diesel. A little bit ugly in the back but with only 2000kms on the clock, its all good! First thing Graeme did when trying to find reverse was pull the whole gear stick and cover off! – “Well, it said lift for reverse he says”!???! Our mouths were all like this O !! After we recovered he found he could put it back on (mostly)and we were off in a squeal of front wheel drive tyres!!! Then the fun began….

Driving in a car with the steering wheel on the left, driving on the right hand side of the road for the first time and the instructions we had said just to follow the signs to Firenze (Florence) which we did but then all hell broke loose.

Roadworks everywhere, signage was non existent and with 3 or 4 lanes and no lane markings, it got crazy. We ended up heading into Firenze and jammed in god knows where, managed to get off the road but ended up in a carpark full of people, where Gray almost ran 2 over in his fight to get out!
Got back on the road heading back the way we had come in and then u-turned onto the right road, ending up at a roundabout where we tried every exit before we finally found the right one. We travelled down 3 highways and had to get off then back again, before finally pulling over to the side of the roundabout (along with others I saw) to try to figure it out. All roads lead to Rome and that was the way we found we needed to go even no instructions told us too.

Needless to say we had traumatic stress disorder by the time we got on the right highway but never even yelled at each other !!!! The sun was starting to set by the time we got into the country and got there – SO relieved, as I feared we were going to be stuck in the dark.

Once you know where Lupinari Tenuata is though, you are almost taken aback at this hamlet in Tuscany. It has a castle ‘Castelli’ where the owners live and the hamlet has the apartments. It is set on the hillside overlooking small towns , vineyards and olive tree’s – this was a good internet/ Trip Advisor pick !!

The girl that was on duty was lovely, she speaks very clear English and is studying languages at university. She helped us settle in and when we asked if we could get some bread, she got us prosciutto, cheese, salami and sliced bread. This was great as we hadn’t had any proper meals today and it was 9pm. Sat in our apartment named
Il Granaio (is a converted grainary) and ate our first Italian supper!

Off to bed to wind down and relax – this is been some day!

Day 23 - 18th May Paris

Day 23 – 18th May

We were able to sleep in till 8am today – was absolute bliss even though we had both woken earlier. Went down to breakfast and had to fight our way in as they had shut the separate Trafalgar room even though we were told we could go until 10am. It was quite funny, I told him he could ring the TD if he liked, but he let us in then!!!

Had brekky with Clare and Grace, then packed up ready to leave. Graeme copied all Clares photos onto a disc for her then we said our goodbyes to them – hard to say au revoir as we all feel we have known each other for ever. Grace whose real name is Grazia, is so jinxed as she always has funny things happen to her - like the day we all went to go through the hotels revolving door, except Grace went the wrong way and it jammed her in between the doors. We could see her but she couldn’t get out- was hilarious!

We have really enjoyed the people we have met on the tour, with some real characters and genuinely nice people. I wonder if we personally were a little overwhelmed with this being our first tour and one that was so full on each day but from now on it will be easy!
Got a taxi to the Hotel Leveque – a cost of €29 after being told it would be €10 by the concierge. We had an angry little, smelly taxi driver who didn’t like being questioned about the price. He didn’t speak English until he asked for the fare even though I had asked him in French if he did!! He drove like a madman through the traffic- there seem to be no road rules here.

Got to the hotel though and it is really a traditional little cobbled street in one of the two pedestrian streets in Paris- our road looks over the street- with a little balcony and french doors that open. Outside are fish markets, cheese shops and grocers selling fruit and veges. The sounds and smells are all strong and vibrant – quite different from the last hotel in the business district and nice to try something different.

We were able to get into our room straight away at 12pm even though the check in time is 3pm – we were very lucky. Dropped our gear and walked to La Fayette – the shopping area. Took about 40 mins and we passed many of the sights we had seen on the tour bus, but this was better being in the hub of it.

The weather had cleared and was hot and sunny. Got to La Fayette and OMG people, people, people. It was like Oxford St in London. It was quite overwhelming but one of those experiences you have to have. Finally found a café to stop for a drink and some lunch. Went upstairs as they had a non smoking area – only problem was all the smokers were at the bottom of the stairs and the smoke from the camel dung cigars, came straight up!!

Lunch was toasted sandwiches and chips with a coke – cost €41 !! So expensive, I will never think NZ is dear again!! But it was what we needed, so we wandered around with half of Paris. Got Sam some clothes, then we found our way to the metro. The nice man on reception at the hotel had told us the line to get on. You just look for the name of the last stop on the line and its colour, and that’s the one you get. Was easy since we had experienced the London tubes, which aren’t as well signposted.

Wandered back to the hotel, just before the rain came down!! Relaxed for a bit, then we will go and find an internet café as I need to check our easyjet flight is still on tomorrow for Pisa, Italy! Also want to post on the blogpage while I can. Internet is expensive here compared to NZ, about $20 for 3 hours on a cheap day.

Oh, that’s right, we now call the blog page a “Blob Page”as that’s what Grace was accidentally calling it the other day when she was so tired after a long day on tour!!!!!!!!!

Our impressions of France now we have been here 2 weeks –

- The French are very formal – always address you “bonjour Madam”etc when you go into stores
- The women are very small and fine boned as a rule. They dress up for everything and are always in high heels and stockings.
- There are so many French that smoke everywhere and all the time. Danni has actually got a dry smokers cough after walking around in it for 2 weeks ?!
- The dogs go with them in the shops, hotels and absolutely everywhere in between. They have a love affair with small canines.
- There are many gypsies and beggars on the streets everywhere.

Day 22 - 17th May. Paris City

Day 22 – 17th May

Full on day today, up at 6.30am and on to the bus at 8am for a tour of the city and a trip up the Eiffel tower!!

Carine got us to queue an hour before it opened, to be the first in line which we really were- the very first !!! The weather was wet and rainy, but luckily stopped while we were queued under one of the huge feet of the tower. Up to the 2nd level and 20 mins only unfortunately but it was freezing with the wind, so a quick look around and a line for the loo, where I added my name to the many on the back of the toilet wall- put Hamilton NZ on the map, yay!!

Down to earth again, the lift was very quick but weird as it has a counterweight in it that tips up backwards!
On to a tour of the city in the bus then we were taken to Napoleans tomb and a lunch stop.

After this we were taken to the Seine river for a cruise, which was great to see things from a different angle. The weather was pretty wet but we had jackets and an umbrella.

Then on to Montemart where all the artists are in the street- they paint portraits and landscapes and sell them there. Nice wander around for a couple of hours, then back to the hotel at 5.30pm. Needed to be showered and back on the bus at 6.30pm for the farewell optional dinner.

Escargot, and wine was abundant – oh how merry many were!! There was lady who came and played the accordion and we all sang and danced around the room. Clare got her to play happy birthday and they all sang to me - blush!
She and Grace have given me a beautiful Murano glass necklace and earrings for my birthday- they have been so great and have made the tour for us.

Back to the hotel for a goodbye drink then au revoir tomorrow – what a two weeks!

Day 21 - 16th May.Omaha Beach->Giverny->Paris

Day 21 – 16th May

An early wake up at 6am today. This hotel has been very good with the service and the rooms, although older are well maintained. Carine told us at the start of the tour that in France the customer is “never right”in fact the customer is treated as a pain in the ass!!! Has often been the way, but not here.

On the road at 7.30am and we drove a few hours to Claude Monet’s house (the painter). Thought it would be a bit ho hum as we aren’t into art really, but the gardens there were something else again – as was the lilly pond – the inspiration for his famous paintings over the years.

We were also able to go through his little villa and art studio. Into the souvenir shop and the till were ringing non stop in there – it is a conveyor belt of his prints and people were queued up to buy them.
Had a lovely lunch with the a Aussie girls and the South African couple in the Amercian art museum- was very pleasant. Its funny as Mariska (from S.A) and I were the only two who knew of, or used the Trafalgar website and forums prior to the trip!

Back onto the bus and back to Paris where we began the tour. Graeme and others got off on the way and went to Versailles, while we carried on in the bus to the Sofitel Grande Arche Defense hotel that we were in at the start. This hotel is great as we are given 2 full rooms with an interconnecting door. It is by far the most upmarket hotel we have had, although far away from the city – it is more in the business district. From what everyone has said Insight tours are the best for hotels being in the centre of town, therefore easier movement on foot. Will think about this if we do other tours in the future. Insight doesn’t do many regional tours within 1 or 2 countries but we know what to look for now we have done one!

We requested a room on the high floors for Danni as it is 19 floors. We could have rooms on the 18th floor if we were happy with a smoking floor, or the 3rd for non smoking. Where is the reward for being healthy??!! LOL. Prayed they wouldn’t stink of smoke and yay! They spray them with neutralizing spray. Cool view out over Paris too. (but no landmarks except the defense arche which is around here somewhere).

Went out for a wander with Clare and Grace to find some food for tonight before we go off to the Louvre. (room service meals are €30 pp in the hotel!)
Everyone is pretty happy that we have 2 nights here in Paris at the same hotel, so we can get some washing etc done.

Went and found a ‘supermarche’and bought some ready made salads for tonights meal, then Danni and I were picked up from the hotel along with other and off to the Louvre.

Our French guide was Pierre and while he constantly spit on the people near him – he was great!! So passionate and knowledgeable about art. He explained about many of the sculptures and then took us the hall that is the setting for Dan Browns Di Vinci code assignation scene! Having just read that book before coming, it was great as I knew of some of the pieces. Some of them were Huge -2 stories high and just as wide. But the piece de resistance of course was one smaller painting and now I can say
I have stood before the Mona Lisa! She was no disappointement either. Bigger than I had thought and because Pierre explained about the painting techniques etc, you could really appreciate it. We only had a couple of hours there but that was enough as it was pretty hot in there.

Graeme said that at the Louvre when Frank came to pick them up in the bus, it cost 54 euros to park there for 30 mins- unbelievable!!!

Back to the hotel and so ready for bed – fell in about 11.30pm. It was a 15 hour day from hotel to hotel.

Day 20 - 15th May.Tours->Mont St.Michel->Omaha Beach (Bayeux)

Day 20 – 15th May

Up at 6.30am, on the road at 8am and got into our next hotel at 7pm tonight so a long day on the bus, but saw several great places today.

We drove to Mont St. Michel, which is on a small island linked by a causeway. There are 12 monks living there in the abby who also have part time jobs apparently- however we didn’t see them. It is perched on this high spot with zillions of stairs, its great for the legs. It also has quicksand around it, that can see people disappear and we saw heaps of people out on the mudflats??!!!

Next we journeyed to Omaha beach to the American war cemetery- what a waste of life. There are almost 10,000 crosses there as that many men died on the D –Day beaches and surrounding areas in the first 10 days.We were able to go down onto the actual beach as well. It is a beautiful spot now however, very still and quiet, it is just like in the film Saving Private Ryan, according to the Veterans who witnessed both the real thing and the movie. The weather had packed in and it was quite wet by now, Carine said this is what the weather was like on the day of the invasion. Makes you realize how much they must have suffered and of course we don’t know the half of it.

At 6pm (!) we were then taken to the Bayeaux tapestry museum to see the 70 metre tapestry that was finished in 1077 !!!! It was massive and told the story of the battle of Hastings. Fascinating Im sure, especially if you are into tapestry, however by this time everyone was pretty shattered, so we walked back to the bus to find the driver had locked the doors while he washed the outside of it in the pouring rain???!!! It is one thing to have pride in your work, but that was ridiculous so there was almost a mutiny as we all stood shivering in the rain and wind. Then we all decide to bolt and demand he let us in!!!! Luckily the TD had arrived so his head was saved!! Funny really…

Went to the Mercure Omaha beach hotel which is great, set on one of the few golf courses in France. Great room with a separate room upstairs for Danni – yay for everyone as we have spent most of the time 3 in a double room with 2 singles and a camp stretcher!!

Had a great meal then a group photo one of the ladies organized as Trafalgar doesn’t do them anymore, so a good end to a long but interesting day.

Day 19 - 14th May.Dordogne->Loire Valley->Tours

Day 19 – 14th May

Same routine today, up and on the road by 8am. We visited Limoges, which is renown for its porcelain manufacturing. All the aussies were saying about how expensive it was – had a look and they were right $200 for a small milk jug!!

Back on the road, a long leg till 2pm today before lunch and a toilet stop, everyone is so tired but we all picked up when we got to the Loire Valley where we visited the Palace of Chenonceau, a privately owned chateaux built in the 1700’s. It was HUGE and beautifully preserved. The gardens were something else again, all manicured and symmetrical. Wandered around in the many, many rooms for a couple of hours then back on the bus for only 1 hour this time to the city of Tours.

This is a central city holiday Inn so will be good for those of us not going out on the optional dinner tonight. The kiwis and aussies are uniting for a pizza somewhere!! Great thing is we don’t have to wait until 8pm for dinner so we are all planning an early night to catch up a bit on sleep. The TD said the French always eat late in the evening but have a siesta between 1 and 3pm. There aren’t too many tours that offer 2 or 3 night stays in the same place, but we would look out for this next time as it allows you to relax a bit more.

Everyone is starting to leave things behind cos we are all rushing to get out each day – I left a necklace on the bedside table 2 nights ago and it must have fallen off between the wall and the bed. Faxed the hotel, but they say they cant find it. Claire from Oz forgot 2 bottles of wine last night from her room, so we are all losing things we wont get back – have to be more careful! There is no room for leaving anything at all out of your suitcase at any time on tour I think – lesson learned the hard way!

Temperatures have plummeted from 36 C yesterday in La Roque-Gageau, to 13C today in the Loire valley. Carine said the temp is much cooler in the north of France, but an amazing difference in one day! We had rain and wind today but cant complain really as we have had it sweet most of the time.

Went to dinner in town, walked around with Claire and Grace and went to a pizzeria. Had a great meal with heaps of laughing and a couple of huge beers! Was one of the best meals of the tour as the company was comfortable and we all have the same sense of humour (poor restaurant )!!

Day 18- 13th May.Bordeaux->St.Emilion->Dordogne Valley

Day 18 – 13th May

Where have 18 days gone?? I cant believe we are this far into our trip already, it is just a daze but what a great daze!

Up at 6.30am again today, bags out at 7am. Left the hotel at 8am on the road to St Emilion. Today turned out to be towns off the beaten track – the real France. St Emilion wasn’t far and it was the quint essential France… population 300 . It was a small narrow cobbled village that had a wonderful feeling about it. Graeme would like to come back and stay sometime. It seemed to be the type of place where you would sit and talk with the locals and really find out about their lives.

Then we moved on to the Dordogne valley, where we stopped after a couple of hours for an optional lunch and another first – roast duck. It was beautiful, tender and a mix between chicken and lamb. The aussie girls weren’t doing this one, so it was a much more straight laced affair. We had country soup with bread, roast duck and sliced garlic potatoes and walnut pie with custard for dessert. Heaven… We walked around the small town after this. We also saw the amazing houses built into the high rocks above the town, they were like caves but proper houses. The troglodytes lived in these from the 17th century until 1930.

It got very hot as the day went on and by the time we went down the road in the bus and got on a boat for a 45 min river cruise, we felt a bit overheated. After the cruise we went and lay on the cool grass under some tree’s until it was time to go.

Next we travelled via some pretty windy roads to our chateau hotel in the Dordogne. Everyone felt a little ripped off- our tour group is away from the chateau and in a hotel/dorm style residence near by!!! However we did eat – fine dining, in the chateau and amazingly enough we were hungry again at 8pm!!

Feeling pretty shattered tonight as is everyone else, so off to bed at 10pm to crash!

Day 17 - 12 th May. Biarritz->Bordeaux

Day 17 – 12th May

Woke after ok sleeps, the air conditioning wasn’t working in the hotel, so it was a bit hot but ok. Danni even got to have a swim last night after dinner at 9.30pm – it was too tempting not to as our room overlooked the pool. The room is nice and plenty of room and Danni had a fold out double couch, so that was good too.

Up at 6.30am today and down to breakfast and out on the road at 8am.
On the road out of Biarritz, we stopped at the lighthouse by the ocean, to take photos then on to a spot where 2 men built a statue of the Virgin Mary on a rock out over the sea. They had sworn that if they survived a storm that is what they would do and they did. It was rather poignant on such a sunny day.

Quick coffee stop and we went to a café that was a rock n roll memorabilia café from way way back, even the roof had old autographed photos and LP’s.

We travelled for 2 hours through a massive pine forest and corn fields that the French use for feeding ducks. They have them in some sort of set up so they cant move much and they force feed them twice a day to fatten them to make their livers grow huge. These they later use for duck pate - Uck ! Big livers would be very uncomfortable….

We arrived at Bordeaux and were taken back to the hotel in the bus while all the passengers who were doing the wine tasting tour, went on. The TD then took us back into town and let us loose!! The architecture was very provincial French and there was a mix of old and new. Wandered down the longest street I have ever seen , and bought a few things and people watched – geez do the French smoke pee – eww! They smoke everywhere and take their dogs into shops, hotels – everywhere you can imagine, hence watching your step on the sidewalk.

Some of the areas of Biarritz are actually a bit seedy and the TD had told us to always hold on to Danni. One park we walked through had bad vibes but we just walked faster!

Back to the hotel and down for the included dinner – almost split my sides laughing with the Australian girls – fair dinkum they should write a book on their travels!!

Day 16 - 11th May. Carcassonne->Lourdes->Biarritz

Day 16 – 11 th May

A day of many firsts today!!
Woke at 6am to the alarm, an early day again today as much to see. We got into bed at 11.30pm last night by the time we had got everything done and I took a frusemide pill as my ankles have been cankles and really swollen! Consequently, I got up 6 times between midnight and 6am to pee!! But now I have such lovely ankles again!!!

For someone who is a very light sleeper at home, I have learned very quickly to get into a strange bed and go to sleep straight away!!! Its great.

We travelled to Lourdes today which took about 3 ½ hours. We all bought lunch at a truck stop on the way and took it to eat on the grass at Lourdes. We had an absolutely great sunny day again today and driving into the town was great- it is very quaint and so, so crowded with every nationality you could imagine there. I was also surprised that there were hundreds and hundreds of young soliders of every military discipline and uniform, apparently it is because of the pilmgrimage on at present. Even thoughh it was crowded, it just added to the special atmosphere you can feel even when you arent a catholic.

We ate lunch then filled our bottles with the healing waters and wandered through the 2 basilica’s. The lower one was amazing and filled with large frescoes depiciting all the religious stories. In the upper bascilica were all the stained glass windows depicting Christ and his life.

Then we wandered around until time to get back on the bus.
Funny (not so funny for Cathy one of our tour group) for the day, was when she suddenly called out that she had left her bag in a restaurant, this being just after we left in the warren of one way streets. She had all her jewellery and money in it, so Carine very reluctantly turned the bus around to go all the way back – 1 problem… when we got back to the top of the town on the way in there was a big march starting!! She wasn’t happy and ignored the policeman and told the driver to keep going. It was hilarious as we ended up with all the soldiers, pipers etc marching round us all the way down the narrow street!!!.

The TD jumped quickly off the bus and the Miracle of the day- the bag hadn’t been stolen!!! Amongst much hilarity and clapping, we were back on the road. No toilet stop now though as we were half an hour behind to get to the Pyrennes for our train ride. Have included a pic of a gypsy beggar on the street- thought it was very poignant, but they have a very bad name for thieving all over europe and at Lourdes, even from the sick and dying who are visiting - hoping for a miracle. But the lady in the photo was old and frail herself. I broke my rule and gave a very pregnant young woman some money yesterday, who was begging. She was a gypsy also- very pretty and so sad for her and the baby.

MM's fopar for the day- at Lourdes, she walks up all the many steps and yells loudly, in front of the public and Nuns "oh my GOD...........that was hot" we all shrunk into our boots as she blasphemed in one of the holiest places on earth !?!@!

Along the way out of Lourdes we went through the region where the Basque people live. They wanted a completely separate region, not French and not Spanish – hence where Basque Seperatists came from. They have lots of old money and are strong in the fight to not be called French even though they officially live in France.

On to an electric train and 35 minutes up the Pyrennes – very very steep with great views and wild horses. Up to the top and we were in Spain.
There is a line we all stood on where you can have 1 foot in France and 1 foot in Spain!! Hence the photo included today.

Gray had a beer and we wandered around in the perfect clear weather. We are very lucky as 1 woman on the tour said she has been before and couldnt see anything at all and it was freezing.

Since it rains a lot here, everything is very green like home, so we struck it on a great day for views and weather. Gray bought a traditional basque beret (where they come from in France) we had fun all wearing it in photos, then Gray found it had been made in China - What the??

Another 45 mins on the bus and into the city of Biarritz for the night. Another hotel meal at 8pm then straight to bed for Danni! She has been great though, especially as everyone- all adults are finding the pace too fast with basically 6 ½ -8 hours a day on the bus. Not sure why that is, as others who have done TT's (differnt ones) before, say the pace has always been much more comfortable and not so much travel. Maybe it is the distance we are trying to cover each day?? The bus is pretty disappointing too for a brand new, 1st class bus - the seats are hard and very little legroom unfotunately.

Just have to enjoy the moment I think and sleep later!

Dinner was great in the hotel with lots of laughs with Claire and Grace from Melbourne. Cya

Day 15 - 10th May. Nice->Nimes->Carcassonne

Day 15 – 10th May

Up early today at 5.55am, bags out in the hallway at 6.30am and up to the 8th floor for brekky. Werent enough tables spare, so Danni and I sat with an aussie couple and Gray sat elsewhere, which was ok as you get to talk to others on the tour. Those that did the optional yesterday said it was good, even though it cost $155 each for a drive/tour and lunch. There were a few very merry people we saw in the afternoon!!! So it was a good call for us with Danni to stay back, shop, relax and swim – we felt we got to see a lot more of the real Nice.

Onto the bus and drove for 3 hours before stopping- naughty TT’s! not meant to go more than 2 hours without stopping for the loo and a drink. However our bladders must be getting trained and we fared well!

Drove to Arles and a group of us were dropped off as we weren’t doing the Vincent Van Gogh tour. We had 2 ½ hrs to wander around and have lunch. It was good this time as Carine got off with us and showed us where to go for the best bakery in France and took us to the town square.

What a town it was- looked so old and Italian!! There were the ruins of an amphi theatre and a forum, they were pretty impressive. Walked around the narrow alleyways and looked in the shops. The prices are a little more than at home. Bought lunch from the patisserie Carine had suggested now that the massive queues were gone and walked up to the park, met Grace and Claire the 2 aussie women, and enjoyed a lovely lunch under the tree’s. It is 33 C here today!! Hot.

We spent some time trying to dodge moaning Minnie who was also there – she truly gives Australians a bad name, she just never stops complaining. Later she tortured us all by getting the Tour Director to put on a CD in the bus of pan flutes- it was akin to having your teeth pulled and you couldn’t hear your own ipods. Thankfully, Carine also hated it and came down to talk to us all as there was a group who were going to commit mutiny!!!! I said I would politely tell Minnie we weren’t having anymore if need be! So she happily turned it off and returned it to MM. It really has to be a group decision to play music as it affects everyone on the bus.

Went through Nimes on the 3 hours trip to Carcassone to drive past the roman arena built one century BC!! It also had a building called the ‘square house’ which as Carine said, isn’t square and isn’t a house!!

We drove to Carcassones medieval castle- it was amazing as it has been restored - there are about 50 people who still live there, descendants. They have been offered houses in town but they are chose to stay, so it is a living castle too!

Wandered around there for an hour or so and Graeme bought a great white linen dress shirt to replace the one that the London hotel lost!
Wandered around in the blistering heat- at least it is dry heat.

Went back to the hotel and freshened up for dinner- the restaurant is overlooking the river and the castle - many have rooms on that side with balconies, but these Irish luck descendants have a back room with a view of someone elses house?!@#! Never mind, we leave early again tomorrow.

Had a great dinner altogether then we walked down the riverbank with Grace and Claire- they give Aussies a good name and also have our sense of humour !! Grace was so funny telling us to 'watch out for the poop' everywhere! as french dogs shat anywhere and everywhere!@#@!

Off to bed as 6am wake up again tomorrow

Day 14 - 9th May. Nice

Day 14 – 9th May

It was great to not have to get up today, although I woke at 6.45am it was just nice to lay there and look out the window. We have been given a deluxe room on the 5th floor and the walls are all glass, so you can look up the streets – its great!

We got up and went walking along the Cote d’ Azur fantastic city of Nice. It is postcard perfect blue sky, sunshine and a light breeze. We shopped today- mainly Sam will be benefiting!!! Not cheap but since we have come from tripling everything with pounds, it seems cheap to only double it! !!

Wandered around for hours, then stopped at a French café for lunch, where they didn’t speak English, but we just went with the flow. They brought us a bowl of olives and fish ball things and bread without us asking. Surprisingly, you aren’t charged for it.

Wandered back after that, but stopped on the edge of the Mediterranean ocean along the boulevard- it is amazing!!!

Went back to the hotel and took Danni up to the rooftop pool as she was hanging out for a swim- waterbaby that she is! We sat in the sun and watched her while sipping our $12 each heinekens (how do you spell that beer?)! They were good!

Not sure what we will do tonight but heaps of restaurants around to choose from and everything is within walking distance. A great day today and a great hotel placement.

Later, walked along the boulevard and enjoyed the beautiful balmy weather and just had a good look around. You feel very safe here, but we were told the crime is quite high here surprisingly, although we are tight in the centre of town so it is fine.

Found a restaurant on the beachfront and were enticed inside by an Italian maitre'd who spoke very good english!

He was lots of fun and we had a great meal sitting outside at the pavement tables. Enjoyed a seafood meal,complete with many battered sprat like fish - whole!! Didnt manage to eat many to be honest as the eyes put me off!!!

Day 13 - 8th May. Lyon->Avignon-> Monte Carlo->Nice

Day 13 – 8th May

Woke after a surprisingly good sleep considering Graeme’s bed went downhill on one side and Danni’s camp stretcher was so up and down we had to pad it up with a blanket underneath! On the road again by 8am – not sorry to say goodbye to Lyon.

We passed though pretty countryside along the way, even saw a basilica which was apparently built in honour of Mary Magdalene. She is said to have gone to live there for some years until her death, in France where she lived in a cave dwelling and it is said when she died, that 2 angels came and took her this particular place.

We drove for 2 hours, a stop in an auto grill for toilets and a cuppa, where the TD gave Danni a tin can filled with nougat that the staff gave her for us all going there I think! Danni went and said ‘merci beaucoup Carine”. She is keen to try the language and I think she appreciated us all trying?! We have had 4 people of various nationalities come up to us already and say how great Danni is on the bus, so that’s nice. PSP certainly helps alleviate long bus hours!


Arrived in Avignon after another 1 ½ hours where there were celebrations taking place. Today is a public holiday today in France to celebrate the end of WWII, and there was a ceremony with Veterans going on. Wandered around there for 1 ½ hours and we all picked up our baguettes that Carine had pre-ordered for us – freshly made with olive oil, tuna, egg and salad. We really enjoyed this town after Lyon, and everyone was feeling better. Saw an amazing papal palace and statue of the Virgin Mary and walked the grounds of it in the warm barmy sunshine – Yes the weather had fined up beautifully as we moved south. That is the plus of such a large land mass – when you move on a few hours to the south you have a completely different micro-climate.

On the road for another 3 ½ hours!! And we passed through the famous Cannes, then Nice and onto the principality of Monte Carlo- such opulence! OMG everything there is top end and there is apparently no crime at all. This was the one place we could leave our bags on the bus – yay, cos it was now 30C plus!

Wandered around this decadent town that spans only 2 kms. Gray was buzzing as this is where the Monaco Grand Prix is held in a few weeks, the barriers were up ready for the race and he knows it well from playing his computer racing game.

The road cars you see there are another thing, Lamborghini’s, Ferrari’s, Bentleys and many Smart cars! The lifestyle these people lead are so foreign to us – I just cannot imagine living like this and holding my head up in snobby pride! Saw 1 young ‘Paris’ look alike being chauffeur driven in the Bentley, while talking on her cellphone! The yachts there are also out of this world. Walked around for an hour or so as we couldn’t go into the casino with Danni, but that was fine. Gray bought a limited edition 2007 Michael Schumacher racing cap there, so he was happy!

Back to the bus and we were all pretty hot and tired with the long day, but happy with it. Drove back to Nice and were dropped at a restaurant on the edge of the Mediterranean, it was great. This included meal was the best one yet, salad for starter, chicken, beautiful potatoes and green beans for main and a strawberry layered sponge cake for dessert. We are getting to meet lots of people on the bus due to the seat rotation and the restaurant meals which is good.

I am impressed with Nice for sure and we have all day free tomorrow as we aren’t doing the morning optional sightseeing- will be great to have a sleep in.
Our hotel, Hotel Splendid was a ‘splendid surprise’ with 2 rooms again – Danni has the fold out double and we have 2 singles!!! However it also is on the corner of the building and we have these unusual windows that open on the 5th floor, and overlook several streets - looks great and only 3 blocks from the waterfront.

The french riveria is tres magnifique!

Impressions of France so far – Weather varies a lot from region to region.
*Countryside is expansive/picturesque and not crowded like the cities.
*There is a lot of unrest politically that see’s youth rioting in the streets.
*Graffiti absolutely everywhere except Monaco, but at least it uses real words and looks like the tagging from the 80’s – artistic!
*People have good manners on a whole.
*Moving around this country, you feel like you are entering new countries as they are all quite different.
*They have 19 nuclear power stations. Drove past 3 today.
*Road costs- petrol is $3 per litre and to drive the circumference of France as we are would cost you € 450 in a car and € 650 for a bus – shocking!! Toll bridges everywhere charging.

Day 12 - 7th May. Paris->Beaune->Lyon

Day 12 - 7th May


Flew out of bed with the phone ringing in my ear at 6.30am!! Grabbed it and kept trying to answer the woman, only to finally realize that it was a recorded French woman! Duh, well I had been awake late as couldn’t quite drop off as I kept thinking the TD was waiting for me!

I managed to shower, do make-up and hair in 15 or so mins!! I was so impressed with me! Down to breakfast then everyone was on time to the bus at 8am. We headed out of Paris, while Karen explained that 30,000 people celebrated with the new male French president (Nicolas Sarkozy) outside here somewhere, while there was some rioting by the other sides hooligans and cars burnt! Glad she got us in early last night.

The general plan for the next few days is travel 2 hours, have a pitstop, then -another 1 ½ - 2 ours then stop for lunch. Back on the bus after 1 ½ hours then travel for another 2 X 2 hours- phew!!

Today we got to Beaune for lunch, a wander around the town and then met Carine again for a church visit which was very impressive in its size and stained glass windows and then down into a wine cellar for tasting – from which Gray really benefited with me not able to drink it!


Got to Lyon about 5pm, weather grey and overcast. The hotel is a long way out of town which means if you don’t do the dinner optional at $124 each! then you are stuck. Would have appreciated being pointed in the right direction by the TD for a supermarket or restaurant, but she just pretty much ignored Graeme when he asked her, so unfortunately you are on your own to find things I guess?
We went out for a long walk and found there are lots of rather seedy tenament blocks with lots of Moroccans living here. Carine said later that they are the ones the police have trouble with in Europe. However they left us alone and we got back to the hotel fine.

Had dinner in the restaurant next door- my French is surprisingly good and I’ve been amazed at how I can read the signs/menu’s and speak the basics when the French don’t speak English!

Day 11 , 6th May Leaving England for France

Hurray I am back!! Opened the blogpage for the first time in France and guess what?? Its all in fripping french!!!! Just as well I know a wee wee bit!! Have posted retrospectively....

Day 11 – 6th May

Leaving day today – Outward bound England, inward bound France.
Off to Birmingham airport – arrived early at 10.30am, bought a few books to read at the bookshop, then a sad goodbye to Matt & Michelle. They have been such generous hosts.

On our flight we had been changed to the economy airline of British Airways, a subsidiary called Flybe’s. The plane was 1 seat on one side of the aisle and 2 on the other!! Small. We also had to pay for lunch $16.50 each for a hot drink, sandwich and mars bar?!@! Filled the gap anyway I guess, but Graeme wasn’t very pleased as we paid for a BA flight that would have had food included on it – hmm….

Landed after only 50 mins – we are in France!!!!!! Immigration was virtually non existent- no stamp in the passport, no forms to fill in, no anything really. Got our bags, waved the passports at a woman and out!!! The transfer pick up man was right there with my name on a sign – yay and we were at the hotel quickly. We have been allocated 2 rooms with inter-connecting doors in the hotel- is fantastic and more than we had hoped for! There are luxury feather mattresses on top of the beds and it all looks pretty magnifique! We got there just in time to freshen up and get down to the lobby for a 5.15pm pick up for an included dinner in Paris!

On to our bus – is brand new and met our tour director Carine and Franc the bus driver! They are both native French and I think Karen will be straight up but fun, she was kind to Danni which is nice. Dan is the only child on the tour, she said “Mum I think that’s its better I am, cos if another child was on the tour they would wind me up and I would go crazy!!!!!

Went to a French restaurant for dinner, was very quaint. Was a bit of a rushed dinner as we arrived at 6pm and had to be back on the bus at 7.15pm. Carine said this is because of the presidential elections tonight- the winner will be announced at 8pm and as it is roughly half in half – there will we half the people unhappy with the result. She said there will probably be rioting and the national pastime is setting cars on fire, so we had to be back in the hotel and safe early!

We have found that the majority of the group are Australians, a few couples younger than us actually and some are a real riot- we were all laughing our heads off at dinner! Met one woman on the tour, who moaned her t*ts off from the moment we met her and she is traveling alone. Had the fleeting horrible thought that we might get stuck with her on the bus as we have 1 free seat with 3 of us, but we have a couple of spares or single travelers so looks ok – yay! She is now infamous in the group and we have named her Minnie (as in moaning!)


Back to the hotel, had large lovely baths and packed up for tomorrow, wake up at 6.30am, bags out the door at 7am and on the road to Lyon at 8am sharp!! Earlier than I get up for work! Knew it would be like this though, to get around the whole of France.